Last summer, we were blessed with an unexpected visitor. She graced us with her beauty and song. She picked our house, and tagged us as her people; aka roadies.
Her name is Stevie Nicks.
They settled right in, making themselves at home.
We were being pushed out of our once quiet home.
Chaos prevailed.
The whole situation became a little costly and quite frankly, smelly. Who would ever think that these adorable bundles of fur could produce so much POOP.
After a little research on the internet, some persistence and encouragement from her roadies, a switch from traditional cat litter to horse bedding happened. The smell isn't as bad, and cleanup is quick. A few scoops a day into a diaper genie. Cats like a clean area to do their business! This is the only method the babies know.
I purchased two same size totes. One was flipped over and many, many, many holes were drilled with a 1/4 inch drill bit. I could have laid them out neatly but freestyle seemed quicker.
Scrap pieces of 3 1/2" boards were cut to length and painted to match the totes. The boards fit between the obstructions and under the rim on each side. If you decide to make your own, measure any obstructions for your overall length. These boards act as a spacer to create a larger gap between the two totes for the sawdust to settle. This way I don't have soggy spacers sitting in the bottom of my tote.
When stacked together, with the spacer in place I measured out the entrance. I decided to put mine on the end as these little rock stars seem to have long bodies.
I used a jigsaw and then sanded any burrs that were left. The YouTube video that I watched for inspiration, (I will leave a link here), said to sprinkle pellets on the bottom to capture any urine that makes it way down. Stack the holy tote on top and put a good layer of pellets in there.
When I clean the liter box, I use a large yogurt container and a pooper scooper. I leave the pellets behind and grab the brown nuggets. They get tossed into a diaper genie. The urine turns the pellets to sawdust that settles in the bottom tote. The pellets are stirred with the pooper scooper, or you can shake the holy tote so the sawdust falls to the bottom. After a week or two or three, I empty the bottom out. I have been dumping the sawdust around trees. Not too much, maybe a yogurt container around each. There is very little odor with this method. I add a yogurt container of pellets maybe once a week.
On a high note, Stevie's a$$ used to hang over the side of her purchased litter box, missing it altogether. The tall sides of the tote eliminates this.
Stevie's wandering ways were put to an end.
A week of dressing in cones and lovely pink onesies couldn't end soon enough for this fashionista.
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After a few more months, two of the crazies found a lovely home.
Lastly, PLEASE don't drop your pets off in rural areas.
It's cruel!
Cheers!
